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Saturday, 29 May 2010

The making of a Imperial Guard Infantry List.

Colonel Bryce locked the power cell back into place on his laspistol and surveyed the terrain ahead with a slight frown creasing his sun burnt features. Sergeant Iq Baal had returned with the rest of his Riders only a few minutes before and reported the advancing greenskins were heading strait toward them. Within moments the familiar roar of engines could be heard echoing across the Savannah as the enemies vanguard approached. The Colonel gave a short nod toward the ridge behind him and heard the reassuring metal on metal crack as the first lot of artillery shells was locked into the breeches of the massed Auto Cannons... It would not be long now.

TKE asked me to write down what is a typical infantry gunline list or footslogger list that I now use. I have attempted to do so with explanations of what and how I go about building a list below. I have also noted several important disclaimers about the list and its level of competitiveness.

1). This list is not for you to write, I would beat it easy with….

I am aware of its limitations more than you can possibly imagine. I have played it this way since 2nd edition when you were all watching Sooty. (Who I kind of thought was hot for a puppet). I am aware that 5th edition has made it unfriendly for me, in fact as the new codices have rolled out; I have been further and further stretched. BUT… it’s what I like and enjoy with this force.

2). The list below is a general list, not specialized toward whom I know I am playing. It can adapt and change and I do change it.

3). This list is how I have made infantry gun line as effective as I can for 5th while retaining a theme element. That element is 1890’s Britannia, Zulu, Sudan Wars style. It’s not designed to be 41st millennium eldar plasma blasting stuff. Its First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire…. As it was in 1890… and that’s an element I like. That’s why you will see a standard in each platoon. :)

4). I like this list because I don’t do the typical and must get 6 Chimera’s 3 Valks etc…. it’s not that type of game for me with this army. Its using an extensive collection of old citadel figures to enjoy the game. I don’t always win, If I want to win a tournament I would never use the below list ever. But if I used this list against you… I would do it several times and then hope I improve each time till I forced a victory. That’s what generalship is to me in 40k. Its using what I do have… to its best effect and then improving each game I play with it. After all we might be playing with plastic spacemen… but which general ever says… hmm well luckily I can adjust whatever forces I have from a day to day period? Never in any theatre of war. You fight with the troops and tanks under your command to do the best you can while minimizing your own casualties. That’s usually how war works…

The load out of the CCS depends on whom I am playing. The above is if I have zero idea of who my opponent is or what they play. I only change however the special weapons for other types or a HWT. The rest remains constant. If I play against nids, its changes to plasma guns, if it’s against Tau, Marines, Orks, it remains as above. If it’s against Wolves, CC armies I tend to go flamers or plasma.

The Company Commander you will note has nothing of interest. I see no point in it when points are better spent elsewhere. The MOO. I cannot stress for a stationary IG army… the MOO pays for himself twice over every match I play. 30 points for the blast of your life and scaring the hell out of anything. It is essentially an excellent land raider killer if you can get the shot off in the first turn.

The Company Commander becomes Creed when I need it. Or when I want to do something specialized.

Lord Commissar with Power Weapon.

Nothing can beat this guy for holding troops together, and ensuring our all important orders get through. He finds himself attached to the SWS and used as a counter punch unit for whatever goes either past the gun line, or drops in behind me. (See Platoon 1 below).

Elites

5 Storm Troopers including x2 melta and a sgt. (Old school Beret wearing French style who watch reruns of ello ello)

Elites are used for one thing in my list. STOP THEM from getting to my guns/destroying the guns, looking at the guns, thinking about the guns. This is essentially cannon fodder on a scale of distraction. They are always deep striking and they usually make people say… WTF! Two melta with BS4! You…. You… I better stop and take that out on the way past, or turn about. Their role is to land, 105 points worth each… and then blow something up that will cause my opponent to say hell... better deal with them. They are excellent against stationary Vindi, Large sit at rear unprotected nids, and Daka Pred killers. They also can remove anything with the word eldar in it that has been silly and gotten within shot of the landing.

The pickets… they sit 5 inches forward of the main infantry line. The priest waits doing his shoes up, cleaning his chainsaw thingy, maybe giving that young cute guardsman the eye with the bubble butt… (you get the picture). On turn 1, he joins the unit and they head toward anything armoured heading at the gun line to swing at it. If they live BONUS… if they die… well he was checking out that guardsman anyway so deserves it. :)

The usually do die. But it has forced my opponent to spend valuable time and resources diverting them from the guns again. Everything here apart from the guns is about protecting the guns.

(My Penal legionnaires are all Rogue Trader minis, the Necormunda 8th Spiders, from the original boxed set. My Eviserator priests are Necromunda Zealots with masks and Eviserators as per 1992 circa. One does have a beard painted on to be evil…)

Platoon 1. (All Praetorian Figures)

Platoon Command Squad

X3 Flamers

X1 Platoon Standard

X1 Captain armed with bolt pistol

A Counter punch unit primarily used to sit still, issue orders and then immediately flame anything that lands. Again depending on whom I am playing it may be 3 plasma or 3 melta. These guys sit behind the 1st platoon’s infantry squads, able to cover a flank or centre.

Infantry Squad x2 Combined

X2 Auto cannon

X2 Grenade Launchers

X1 Commissar

(See my notes from my IG tactical 1 on what they do)

HWS

X3 Lascannon

X3 Lascannon

X3 Auto cannon

X3 Auto cannon

This is what does the harm to people. When this is combined with a Lord Commissar ensuring orders get through, rerolls of cover saves etc mean I will kill things. It produces enough firepower to send most things to slag by sheer weight of dice being thrown across the table.

SWS

X3 Plasma/Melta or Flamer.

Again I change this often, as I hate melta and flamer I find useful but can backfire if they position close enough or rush me off some rule I was unsure of…. Etc or forgot about something. The Lord Commissar joins this unit to keep him safe but then it becomes a hard hitting counter puncher. (After all everything must protect the guns so I can keep firing)

Platoon 2. (All Tallarn figures)

PCS

X1 Gren Lncher

X1 HWT (Missile)

X1 Platoon Standard.

X1 Lt. armed with bolter.

Another sit still and keep ordering unit. I tend to use this as my take a risk unit like shoot off a ML krak at the side of something I can’t hit for mile. This is also the squad that becomes Capt Al… when I am playing against some opponents who I need to be something different about or change my style. Having everything move on at once from an edge…. Priceless.

Infantry Squad x2 Combined

X2 Auto cannon

X2 Plasmaguns

X1 Commissar

(See notes from my IG tactical 1). Note the Plasma… they are old school figures. I don’t have enough Tallarn GL to cover it, so they are plasma by default. I like it in a way as it it’s a nasty str 7 hit at times on ill affording units)

HWS

X3 Lascannons

X3 Lascannons

X3 Auto cannons

X3 Auto cannons

Fast Attack.

Depending on whom I face the load out here changes completely.

It can be…

X5 Rough Riders

X5 Rough Riders

X5 Rough Riders

(Standard when facing Tau, as they make excellent Broadside hold up squads)

X10 Rough Riders

X10 Rough Riders

X3 Armoured Sentinels (Auto cannon or Lascannon)

The Rough Riders I use for the purpose of having something to send off and stop an opponent or harass them. But they can be in a 10 man team rather effective especially against some MEQ and TEQ.

The things I have found.

1). Ork Hordes are easy to deal with, with the list. I have never lost to one. The Ork run strait into the firing lines of a lot of killy auto cannons and the reaping begins in earnest.

2). Inq allies are a god send when facing the usual nids and nasty things like SW and BA. Stopping dropping stuff is a needed must. When using Inq allies I remove the Penal legions, and two Stormies. I replace with a INQ and an Calidus. The Cali does what she does best. Moves an expensive unit right into the path of 9 lascannons or ork bikers into dangerous terrain etc. Then I fire. If I have taken tarot, that’s when the Chaos lash player says… “FARK! Watching is plague marines die to auto cannon overkill and lascannons till his sorcerer dies.

3). Vox I tend not to use, ever. I find the Lord Commissar better and more adaptable and helps in other ways.

4). Eldar seer council in jet bike routine can be bothersome; Inq again with a hood helps here a lot. In Apoc games SM librarians fill the same role for me. Eldar in general have lacked until night spinner in effective anti massed infantry armour. That’s now changing so I will have to examine some tactics for it.

5). Capt Al! Probably has paid for himself two times over when I use him. Bringing in the second platoon on the flank with enough las is a killer. But to get the best use of him, dropping the HWS and replacing with Plasma SWS x2 or x3 usually can crush a flank in the round they arrive. They make a mess of Razorback and Rhino rush too.

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